Metro to ease fog woes

Airport Express Line likely to be inaugurated this week in Delhi

Metro to ease fog woes

Airport Express Line likely to be inaugurated this week in Delhi

It's no secret that travelling in Delhi during peak winters is a pain, even if you own a vehicle. The icy cold winds and the dense fog make for an unhealthy combination. Those headed to the airport, located in one corner of the city, have a particularly tough task at hand. So if you are a frequent flier, this should cheer you up. Delhi Metro's high-speed Airport Express Line is likely to become operational this week.

Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) RK Kardam finished his two-day inspection of the line on Saturday. Speaking to MiD DAY he said: "I have completed the corridor inspection. Final decision will be taken on Monday."

Sources in the government said, the CMRS is likely to okay the line on Monday, but with certain conditions. "There are certain things on which the operator, Reliance led consortium will have to work. Otherwise everything is fine on the Line," said a senior official who did not specify the shortcomings.

Official sources said, baggage check-in at Metro stations will not be started initially "The concessionaire is yet to ink the final deal with Air India," said a senior official.

Meanwhile fog wreaked havoc at Delhi airport on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Over one hundred flights at the airport got delayed by up to eight hours, seventeen domestic and international flights were cancelled and seven others were diverted to nearby airports due to dense fog in Delhi and other parts of northern India. "The cancellation and delay was not only because of dense fog conditions in Delhi. Similar conditions are prevailing in other parts of northern India including Amritsar and Chandigarh," said a senior airport official.

A railway official said 70 trains were delayed and nine cancelled during the day from various stations of Delhi.u00a0 Shallow fog started to descend on the airport on Saturday evening and started to become thicker by 8.30 pm. Visibility began to deteriorate and by 11.30 pm, it had dropped to less than 50 metres. Runway visibility came down to 150 metres when the fog became very dense.

The situation remained poor for the next three hours. During this period seven flights - five domestic, one international and one cargo - were diverted to Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Poor visibility and inclement weather forced Air India to reschedule three international flights. Air India flight (AI 101) to New York, scheduled to depart at 12.45 am, was rescheduled to 9.00 am, Delhi-Chicago from 01.30 am to 10.30 am and Delhi-Toronto from 01.45 am to 09.45 am.

Poor visibility led to implementation of Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) at 8.31 pm on the new runway and at 10.38 pm on the main runway. LVP was terminated at 8.35 am on the new runway and at 6.40 am on the main runway. A total of 151 flights operated using various categories of Instrument Landing System. 88 flights operated with CAT I ILS, 22 with CAT II, 33 with CAT III A and 8 with CAT III.u00a0

18 min
Expected time of commuting from New Delhi Railway Station to airport by the Express Line

Big chill

Icy winds on Sunday exposed Delhiites to the coldest day of this winter with maximum temperature sliding to the season's lowest of 11 degree Celsius.
Sunday's maximum was ten degrees below normal for this period of time and down by 1.14 degree Celsius from Saturday's 12.4 degrees, the second lowest maximum this season. Night temperatures marginally improved to five degree Celsius, two degrees below normal, from 4.3 degrees the previous day. But it did not provide much succour as winds added to the chill.
According to Met statistics, the record for the highest maximum for the month of January was 32.5 degree Celsius recorded on the 28th of 2004. The record minimum is -0.6 degree Celsius recorded on 16th of the month in 1935. In the last decade, it was only last year that the minimum did not drop below five degree Celsius. In 2006, the minimum dropped to 0.2 degrees on January eight while two years later, the lowest minimum was 1.9 degrees on the 2nd of the month. "It has been the coldest day not only of this season but also in the last five years. The cold north-westerly winds from the Himalayas coupled with the heavy fog cover that obstructed the sunrays are causing this chill," an official at the Indian Meteorological department (IMD) said.

Rocky road

January 9, 2011
A water tank rammed into an Alto car due to low visibility killing its driver on the spot at BRT in Greater Kailash area of South Delhi. "The deceased identified Rohit was a folk singer. He was heading towards Archana Cinema along with his two friends when his car developed a technical snag. Two of his friends got off the car and started pushing it for some distance. Suddenly, a water tank rammed into the car from one side," said a police official. The officer said that Rohan was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. Police registered a case of rash and negligent driving and arrested the accused driver of water tanker Resham.
December 28, 2010
A biker was crushed to death by an unidentified vehicle near Kapashera area at around 3 am when dense fog had covered the city. The deceased, Sarvan Kumar, was heading towards Gurgaon when his bike was hit by a heavy vehicle.
In another incident, a policeman was injured when his motorcycle skidded on the road near Najafgarh. Police said the road had become slippery due to moisture in the air and the cop lost balance.
December 27
A mini-truck and a car collided due to low visibility in Burari area at around 10 pm. A 40-year-old woman identified as Bholi was killed on the spot while ten others suffered severe injuries.
December 27
A coach of the Shramjivi Express derailed near Gotgaon station. The incident happened due to low visibility. The derailed coach hit five motorcycles and two cycle rickshaws which were trying to cross the railway track as they could not see the approaching train due to low visibility.

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